India features in the top ten source countries for human trafficking into the UK according to recently released figures. Compiled by the UK Human Trafficking Centre, the figures show the numbers of people recorded under the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as suspected of having been trafficked. Over 40 cases involving trafficking from India were reported in the two-year period up to March 2011. Of these cases, a high proportion (around 75%) were found to contain reasonable grounds to believe the victims were indeed trafficked.

Tip of the iceberg

Even though Dalit Freedom Network UK’s focus is on the trafficking of Dalits in India, we are concerned at the growing trend of trafficking from India into the UK. From a position in the middle of the table, India has now emerged as a major source country. We believe that these figures are only the tip of the iceberg, due to the clandestine nature of human trafficking and also the natural tendency of migrant communities to keep certain matters within the community. This is exacerbated in the cases of trafficking for domestic servitude and for labour in family-run business. DFN UK has expressed concern that failure to assist India in addressing human trafficking will result in these figures increasing further.

Although there is no breakdown within each country, it is believed that trafficking from India is for both sexual exploitation and forced labour, and victims include male and female. This is backed up by anecdotal evidence. The Metropolitan and other UK police forces are currently investigating cases of human trafficking from India. At this stage there is no indication of the proportion of Dalits within these figures.

Flawed mechanism

The NRM is the only official indicator available in the UK for quantifying the numbers of people who have been trafficked. People can only be referred with their agreement, which means that many cases will not be recorded because of victims’ fears regarding immigration rules, treatment by the police and what their traffickers might do to them or to their family back home. Once a referral has been made, investigations are conducted into the veracity of the claim to have been trafficked. Five days are allocated to see whether there are reasonable grounds, and a further 45 days to establish conclusive grounds. During this 45-day period, the potential victim has space to recover.

However, the NRM has its flaws. NGOs have voiced concerns that the limited timescales do not give enough time for traumatised victims to recover. A 2010 report by a coalition of organisations headed by Anti-Slavery International has criticised those operating the system for putting more emphasis on the immigration status of the victim than on the alleged crime against them. They cite an increasing number of cases where traffickers control their victims by warning them that they will be seen as illegal immigrants, held in detention, removed from the UK or even put in prison.